A California man cooked up a scheme that called for buying thousands of dollars worth of Lego kits, replacing Lego pieces and minifigures with bags of uncooked pasta, and returning the sets to stores for refunds, the police said on Thursday.
The man, Jarrelle Augustine, 28, of Paramount, Calif., was charged with grand theft after he gained about $34,000 in the fraudulent transactions, the Irvine Police Department said on social media.
The department store Target reported at least 70 thefts across the country that were tied to Mr. Augustine, the police said. Target did not immediately return a request for comment on Saturday.
Mr. Augustine was booked into the Orange County jail, and has since been released, according to jail records. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer.
One photo posted by the police shows an instruction book to a Star Wars Venator-Class Attack Cruiser, which retails for $79.99.
Another photo shows the box to a Marvel Avengers Tower Building Set, a 5,201-piece kit that retails for $499.99 on the Lego website. In the photo, several bags of Goya brand elbow-shaped pasta, which sell for less than $2 a bag, are in front of the box.
Lego kits can sell for hundreds of dollars, with a Lego Death Star, for example, posted at $999.99.
Some kits and minifigures have gained significantly in resale value, such as the Lego San Diego Comic-Con 2013 Spider-Man, which is assessed at more than $15,000, according to BrickEconomy, a site dedicated to the economics of Lego.
While the police made light of Mr. Augustine’s pasta-and-switch method, calling it a “pasta-tively terrible plan,” his scheme was just the latest in a trend of Lego thefts.
Thieves have targeted Lego products because of their high resale value in the underground market. Officials have said that the toys are targeted because the pieces and kits are small, untraceable and in high demand.
Read Hayes, a research scientist and criminologist at the University of Florida and the executive director of the Loss Prevention Research Council, said it was possible that Mr. Augustine’s use of uncooked pasta — which he described as “off the charts” — was meant to simulate the shifting sound of the pieces inside the box.
“They’re not just highly stolen, they’re highly purchased,” Mr. Hayes said. “Legos seem to be fairly persistent because they’re very good at coming out with new desirable things.”
In recent years the company has introduced Lego kits aimed at adults, including typewriters, trees and a model of the famous Paris cathedral Notre-Dame.
Many thieves work in pairs or groups, with one person as the reseller and another as the person committing the theft, Mr. Hayes said. The stolen pieces get resold in person and online.
On April 8, three California men were charged with cargo theft after being stopped while fleeing in two box trucks full of $1 million worth of Lego, the authorities said.
In October, the police broke up a Lego theft ring that focused on reselling the small character figurines that come with kits, the authorities said. Some thieves have managed to grab more than $100,000 worth of Lego in burglaries.
The Irvine Police Department urged others to not to replicate Mr. Augustine’s scheme.
“If your master plan involves swapping LEGOs for linguine, we can promise your plan will be cooked al dente,” the police said.
Rylee Kirk reports on breaking news, trending topics and major developing stories for The Times.
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